India's Contribution to the Mining, Extraction and Refining of Gold: Some Observations Related to the Pre-Christian Era
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0 2001 NML Jamshedpur 831 007, India; Metallurgy in India: A Retrospective; (ISBN: 81-87053-56-7); Eds: P. Ramachandra Rao and N.G. Goswami; pp.163-181. 8 India's Contribution to the Mining, Extraction and Refining of Gold: Some Observations Related to the Pre-Christian Era ' R.K. Dube. • Department of Materials & Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanptir .208 016, India. ABSTRACT India has a very old and fascinating history of gold. Various aspects of the mining and metallurgy of gold were known to the Indians since time immemorial. In this paper, different types of the gold ore deposits', and the technique used in the extraction and refining of gold in ancient India as obtained from the literary sources 'composed in the pre-Christian era and some archaeological findings are discussed. The recovery of a novel variety of high purity gold powder, known as Pipilaka Gold, from the auriferous soil of ant-hills, as stated in the Maheibharata, has also been discussed. Key, words : Alluvial placer gold, Vein gold, Liquid ore of gold, Panning, Deep mining, Cupellation, Solid state refining of gold, Anks'r gold. INTRODUCTION Man and metal have an age-old relationship. Out of all metals known to man in ancient times, p-6i-haps gold was the first with which man became acquainted. Indians had, and still continue to have, great fascination for gold. Its special attributes, such as pleasing and untarnishing colour, excellent corrosion and . oxidation resistance, ease of forming, and limited availability made it an ideal metal for ornaments, decoration, currency, and store of wealth in ancient India. 163 R.K. Dubey Its characteristics also made it a symbol of sacredness in ancient times in India. The attributes of gold influenced the mind and heart of early Indians so de'eply that they conferred upon the supreme spirit the designation of "Hirnyagarbha". It was so called because, He remains in a golden egg as an-embryo. In the present paper the literary and archaeological evidences related to the gold ore deposits, and the mining, extraction and refining of gold in India in ancient times up to the beginning of the.. Christian era have been discussed., and the contribution of India in these areas have been analysed. The literary evidences cited in the present paper are mainly derived from •the following texts: Figveda[1], Atharvaveda[2], Satapatha Brahmana[3], PincavimL Brahmanam, Ramayana[5], Mah-abharata161, Kautilya's Arthagastram, and Anguttara Nikaya[8]. A brief description of these texts are given in the Appendix. Although scholars differ on the exact date of composition of these texts, a representative date of their composition is given in Table 1. Table 1 : Dates of composition of ancient Indian literary sources Text Date Rgveda 4500 BC Atharvaveda Later part of 4500-2500 BC Satpatha Brahmana 3000 BC Pancavimsa Brahmana 3000 BC — 2000 BC Ramayana Before 500 BC Mahabharata 600 — 500 BC Kautilya's Arthasastra 300 BC Anguttara Nikaya 500-300 BC DEPOSITS OF GOLD IN ANCIENT INDIA In the Atharvaveda, the earth has been referred to `hiranyavaksa', i.e., the one containing gold in her chest - / • visvambhara vasudhani pratistha hiroyavaksa jagato nivesanr I vagvanararb bibhrati bhamiragnimindrarishbha dravine no dadhatull (Atharvaveda, 12.1.6) The above hymn implies that the earth has mines of gold. The word thumi' in the above hymn does not denote merely the surface of the plain land, but it also includes banks and beds of rivers, hills_ of mountains, together with the interior of the earth. In ancient India, the following types of gold deposits were known-:.. 1. Alluvial Placer Deposit 2. Vein Deposit, and 3. "Liquid" Ore 164 India's Contribution to the Mining, Extraction and Refining of Gold... Alluvial' Placer Deposit There is a considerable amount of reference to the alluvial placer deposit of gold • and the recovery of gold from such deposits. The Rgveda (10.75.8) mentions that the river Sindhu (Indus) contains gold — sva6v-asindhuh suratha suvasa hiranyaii sukrta vajinivati I urn-avail yu■/atih iilarn-ava tyutadhi vaste subhaga madhuwdham II The greatest commentator of the Rgveda — Sayana has given the following commentary On the above hymn — "This is the river Sindhu which is full of horses, chariots, cotton, gold, grains, and wool these materials are either produced or found on the banks or the nearby area of the river Sindhu). Its banks contain ropelike plants which are used to tie down ploughs. It bestows fortune on people, and such plants are grown on its banks that help in producing greater amount of honey". In another reference in the Rgveda (8.2.18), it has been mentioned that the path, i.e., both banks, of the river Sindhu contains gold — ut sya svetayavari Vahistha vain naciiriam sindhurhiranyavartanih II According to Sayana, the translation of the above hymn is as follows — "And moreover, the river Sindhu having white (i.e. clean) water flow, and path (i.e., both banks) containing gold, praises you (Ashwin)". It is noteworthy that Sayana has translated, 'hirnyavartani' as chirnyamayobhayaki.115' (i.e., both banks containing gold). The famous lexicon Amarko6a (2.1.15) mentions that 'vartani' is one of the .twelve words used to denote the word path. The above hymns of the Rgveda are some of the earliest indirect references to the alluvial placer gold deposit, and throw light on the antiquity of such deposits in India. In another Vedic text Satapatha Brahmana, it has been stated that gold is found in water, apparently referring to alluvial placer gold found from rivers — atha hiranya sambharati I retastasmadapsu vindantyapsu hi tsm-adhiranya sambharati I (Satapatha Brahmana, 2.1.1.5) The classical Sanskrit literature, notably the R-am-ayana and the Mahabharata, has also given references to allUvial placer gold. The Mah-abharata (2.28, daksinatya recension) mentions that sand and mud of the Jambu river contains gold meruril•pradaksinar'n kritva parvatapravara(n prabuh I 165 R.K. Dube-. The gold obtained from the river Jamb6 was known as Jambunada, meaning literally "the produce of the river Jambu". In the Mahabharata (Drona, 68.11), it has. been stated that the Jambunada gold was considered to be a highly pure variety of gold and was very famous - . jambunadasya sudhasya kanakasya mahayasari I There is another reference in the Mahabharata, which states that the water flowing in the rivers of the kingdom of the king Suhotra contained gold, thus justifying the name of the earth as vasumati, i.e., satyarrarn7a. vasumati yam prapyasijjanadhipam I hiranyamavahan, nadyastasminjanapadeare I (Mahabharata, S5nti, 29.26) The relationship between rivers and gold was *so strong that the names of many rivers producing alluvial placer gold started with the word meaning gold. Some notable examples are as follows. The Mahabharata (Bhisma, 8.5) states a river named Hairanyavati. Various Puranas have also stated similar such river names - Hiroyaskandavaha river (Varaha Puracia,- 82.35), K-dricanaksi river (Vamana Purana, 37.8), Hairanyavati river (Vayu Purarla, 45.10), etc. The famous lexicon Amarkosa (1.10.34) states that the Hiranyavahu is another name for the river Sona. Vein Deposit Vein deposits are the important deposits of gold. The rocks of mountains are the important source of vein deposits of. gold. The Ramayana mentions various mountains, which contained gold. These were: Udai and Saumanasa mountains in the eastern, Soma, Pariyatra and Varaha mountains in the western, and Kala mountain in the northern direction of India. In the Mahabharata (Vana, -104.2), it has been stated that the Meru or Sumeru mountain contained gold. - adrir-ajan maha'sailarh meruen kanakaparvatam I udayEstane bhanuh pradkshinamavartata.11 The identification of the Meru or Sumeru mountain has been subject of a number of studies. In the Mahabharata (Aswamadhik, 4.25/26), it has been stated that the Meru mountain is situated to the north of the Himalayas- merurin parvatamasadya himavatparsva uttare I raTicanah sumah-an padastatra karma Cakarsab I I Harshe191 believes that the Meru mountain is no other than the Altai. mountain in the Central Asia. Altai is the name given to a vast 'system of highlands and lofty mountains of southern Siberia and MongoliaE10]. In the older geographical system the Altai included nearly the whole of the entire northern mountain system of Asia, extending through. the Yablonoi and Stanovoi ranges to the N.E. extremity 166 India's Contribution to the Mining, Extraction and Refining of Gold... of the continentm. The name Altai has been derived from the Turkish — Mongolian `altan', meaning `golden'illi and resembles with the description of Meru as gold mountain in Sanskrit texts. Pathakr"lbelieves that the complex mountain chains from the Altai to the Upper Himalayas are variously termed as Meru. Liquid Ore of Gold In ancient Sanskrit texts, there is a mention of certain naturally occurring special liquids containing gold, which may be considered as 'Liquid' ores of gold. Such references are unique to Indian Sanskrit'texts, which have not yet been noticed in ancient texts of other part of the world. The Atharvaveda (5.28.6) mentions in a very concise (Sutra) manner that one type of gold is the essential (sara) of powerful liquids — ap.amekarii vedhasarii reta ahustat to hiranyarii trivrdastvayushe I The above hymn refers to the liquid in which gold i8 present in the dissolved • form. Kautilya in his Arthastra has stated that one of the origins of gold in nature is in the form of solutions, referred